Luxman Sq-38u Tube Integrated Amp Review What Hifi
Luxman was making high-end amplifiers long before the term "high-stop" was coined. Accept the original Luxman SQ-38 integrated amplifier; it debuted in 1963, the upgraded SQ-38D came in 1965, and the design was revised and refined once more and over again over the years. I recently reviewed the SQ-38u, which is the 11th incarnation of the amp! The new i notwithstanding looks like 1970's how-do-you-do-fi, but its insides reflect modernistic thinking. Or should I say modern tube amplifier thinking? The complete SQ-38u review appears in the latest consequence of Tone Audio magazine.
There's a weird matter happening in modern tube design: some tube amp engineers endeavor to mimic the sound of solid-state electronics, so a lot of contemporary tube gear sounds more than or less like solid-country designs to me. The SQ-38u doesn't fall into that category; it sounds like a tube amplifier that'south the product of 48 years of refinement.
For those who prefer solid-land sound, Luxman offers a tasty option of solid-state integrated amps. Different strokes for different folks.
The dazzler of the SQ-38u's exquisitely machined forepart panel is more than than pare deep. The silky feel of the controls is perfect, just like the proficient one-time days. The metal chassis is sheathed in a handsome existent wood case, and the lilliputian remote control handles just book and mute.
Connectivity is all-analog of course: there are five pairs of line-level RCA inputs, including a phono input; a Rec Out/Monitor; Pre-Out/Principal-In jacks; and a set of A & B speaker binding posts. The amp'south tube runs to four big EL 34 power tubes, iv 12AX7 and iii 12AU7 small signal tubes planted within the 15.vii-by-seven.7-inch loftier by 12.two-inch chassis. The SQ-38u weighs a very solid 44 pounds.
Unlike well-nigh integrated amps, the SQ-38u'southward congenital-in headphone amp isn't based on a piddling 50-cent chip amplifier. No, this bad male child uses the same tube output stage that drives your speakers. So yous go the same audio quality from your headphones as the speakers. The amp had no trouble driving difficult headphones like the Hifiman HE-six planar-magnetic headphones. The sound was extremely dynamic and very transparent; it was on par with my $1,050 Woo Sound WA-6SE tube headphone amp.
Since the SQ-38u design dates back to 1963 I shouldn't take been all that surprised to see that it has tone controls. Wow, it's been a long time since I used a high-end production with bass and treble controls, and I accept to say the SQ-38u's are nicely done. Subtle gradations of bass and treble tin make recordings that sound less than stellar, such as Bruce Springsteen's "Darkness on the Edge of Town" CD, a lot more listenable. I dipped the treble downwards a little and the bass up a few notches, and that was much ameliorate. Once I actually got into the music, I realized what I've missed from the Dominate' more recent recordings: his band doesn't sound like a band anymore. Here on "Darkness," Springsteen is playing with his band of brothers. The SQ-38u brought out the best in his music without highlighting the recording's harshness.
When I played an audiophile recording with existent spatial depth--as opposed to digital reverberation--the SQ-38u unleashed a fully three-dimensional soundstage. The CD "Nama," by Puente Celeste, was done "live" with no overdubs, dynamic range compression, or equalization, and then the audio was palpably alive. The recording so perfectly captures the sound of musicians playing in real time; they listen and react to each other, and the sound was a pure thrill. Information technology goes far beyond mere hi-fi; it sounded similar real music.
The SQ-38u, like every preceding generation of SQ-38 was designed and made in Japan. That said, Luxman is currently readying a new lower-price line that will exist made in China. The Luxman SQ-38u is imported past On A College Notation and retails for $half dozen,000 in the U.S.
Source: https://www.cnet.com/news/a-back-to-the-future-tube-amplifier/
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